U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,312 discloses an electric toothbrush on whose brush head provision is made for two separate brush holders which are driven by a common transmission rod. The one brush holder performs an oscillating rotary motion about an axis perpendicular to the brush neck. The other brush holder is pivoted back and forth about an axis parallel to the brush neck. This arrangement of brush holders brings about an active relative movement between the tufts of bristles but is disadvantageous inasmuch as it is restricted to a special drive mechanism. The additional brush holder arranged further to the rear of the handle requires a cylindrical bottom side with a special, curved guide groove in which an engaging projection of the transmission rod, which oscillates in longitudinal direction, engages. Furthermore, the configuration of the tufts of bristles arranged on the two brush holders is hardly suitable for the efficient cleaning of interproximal spaces.